Our first day in Boston walking the streets

We went to a quaint little place for breakfast that was so small that you would only fit in about 6 to 8 eat-in customers, with not too much space for others ordering as well. Tiny little kitchen with three staff  but very efficient. When we arrived it was packed with diner's so we ordered take out, and waited 20 minutes, which I was advised was the expected time, this was fine, and also the timing was spot on as well. We headed off to a local park to have our breakfast, and it was very tasty, a good call by Ben.

Boston is billed as the "walking city" which we were to discover was true. We headed off to the visitor centre which was the start of the "Freedom Trail" at Boston Common, then past the State House and a couple of significant "burying grounds" (cemeteries). The whole trail took us some three hours and ends up at the Bunker Hill Monument, which celebrates the site where the American revolutionaries lost the battle which is not usually a reason why you would erect a monument. Apparently, at the time as there was so much loss of life and wounded to the British, it changed their attitude to the perceived fact that the "professional British soldier" was so much better than the farmers etc who had made up the American fighting force, which was a real turning point and when it was realised that the revolutionaries may win the war.

Ben and I climbed the 295 steps to the top of the monument which I found to be very hard work, a few weeks away from my walking and gym routine has not helped.

 Looking back over the Harbour and Charles River back into the central district of Boston from the top of the Bunker Hill Monument

From the foot of the Bunker Hill Monument

We then made our way back to the city area, and had a few drinks at the Bell in Hand pub which has been operating since 1795, the name is taken from the fact that the first owner Jimmy Wilson was also the town crier and this is where the name originated.

Samuel Adams who is probably best known as a beer in the US (and a great beer at that) was a part of and a driving force of the Patriots who pushed for independence from Great Britain who signed the Declaration of Independence. In fact it was his father, also Samuel Adams who was the maltmaster and used to brew beer which appears to have been handed down for some generations.

The plaque on the headstone that marks the burial site of Samuel Adams.










That night Ben had selected a restaurant in the local little Italy area - The Daily Catch, no bookings taken, from when when started queuing until we sat down was about 50 minutes, everyone we spoke to in the queue had been there previously and could not rap the place enough. How right they were, there were  few specials, and the special that I wanted was gone by the time I ordered (Ben got the last one) so I opted for Seafood Marinara with black pasta at the waiter's suggestion - bloody fantastic, getting hungry just thinking about it again.

The Daily Catch Restaurant in Boston's Italian District








I cannot believe that this place was only staffed by three people, The Chef, the Waiter and the general cleanup guy. All were perfect at their jobs, and worked together very harmoniously. They did sell wine which was served in plastic cups, to be fair these were a bit more upmarket than the plastic water cups

The blackboard menu. Note: entrees in the US are the main meal, an appetiser is what we think of as an entree